15, Jan 2016

Three persons have been booked by the police in Thane for allegedly transporting a bull in an SUV for slaughtering, police said on Thursday. Bull slaughtering is banned in Maharashtra.
The three — Intezar Ali Sheikh, Raju Ungli and Raju Lanka — have also been booked under charges including attempt to murder, based on a complaint filed by animal activist Chetan Sharma.
As the three accused were trying to transport the bull in a tranquilised state allegedly to a slaughter house in Mumbra, Sharma and his bodyguard tried to stop them. But the three allegedly attacked them, the activist said in his complaint filed with Taloja police.
Later, the car of the accused got stuck in the bushes by the roadside. The three then came out of the vehicle and ran away taking advantage of darkness, according to the complaint.
Sharma’s bodyguard then alerted the police who found the bull lying tied inside the car in a tranquilised condition.
The police seized the vehicle and also some injections, apparently used to tranquilise the animal, a knife with blood stains, three mobile phones and sticks lying inside the car.
Sharma said that the bull has been sent to a ‘gaushala’ and police are trying to trace its owner. The president granted assent to Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act in February last year. While the original Act of 1976 banned slaughter of cows, the amendment prohibits slaughter of bulls and even possession and consumption of beef. —PTI